U.S. patent number 8,141,968 [Application Number 12/424,625] was granted by the patent office on 2012-03-27 for support beam for a cabinet drawer.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Mabe, S.A. de C.V.. Invention is credited to Ignacio Marin Ahumada, Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros Fernandez, Victor Gerardo Cabal Velarde, Alan Federico Camacho Velazquez.
United States Patent |
8,141,968 |
Velarde , et al. |
March 27, 2012 |
Support beam for a cabinet drawer
Abstract
A cabinet drawer support beam is provided, and may include on an
upper part of such beam, a rail or longitudinal sliding mechanism.
An alignment mechanism may be fastened to the rail or longitudinal
mechanism. The alignment mechanism may include a pinion that runs
in the rack of the lower part of the support beam, and the support
beam may be fastened to the cabinet wall by way of barrels and/or
fasteners. At least two beams per cabinet may be included.
Inventors: |
Velarde; Victor Gerardo Cabal
(Queretaro, MX), Velazquez; Alan Federico Camacho
(Tlalnepantla de Baz, MX), Ahumada; Ignacio Marin
(Queretaro, MX), Fernandez; Carlos Espinosa de los
Monteros (Naucalpan, MX) |
Assignee: |
Mabe, S.A. de C.V. (Queretaro,
MX)
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Family
ID: |
41180995 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/424,625 |
Filed: |
April 16, 2009 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20090261698 A1 |
Oct 22, 2009 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Apr 17, 2008 [MX] |
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MX/A/2008/005013 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
312/402;
312/331 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
88/43 (20170101); A47B 88/493 (20170101); A47B
2210/0059 (20130101); A47B 2210/0078 (20130101); A47B
2210/0032 (20130101); A47B 2210/007 (20130101); A47B
2210/17 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
88/12 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;312/402,404,408,410,330.1,331,334.1,334.7,334.8 ;384/18,20,22
;74/422 ;62/382 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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8240378 |
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Sep 1996 |
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JP |
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2005241209 |
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Sep 2005 |
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JP |
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Primary Examiner: Hansen; James O
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Mora; Enrique J. Beusse Wolter
Sanks Mora & Maire, P.A.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A support beam system for mounting a drawer rail mechanism in a
liner of a cabinet comprising: an upper part defined by a side wall
and a lower wall being substantially "L" shaped; a lower part
defined by a side wall, an upper wall and a lower wall being
substantially "C" shaped; wherein said upper part and said lower
part are integrally formed in one piece; a rail fastened to the
upper part; an alignment mechanism having a first end and a second
end, the first end being fastened to said rail, and the second end
comprising fastening means; a rack formed in the lower part, and a
pinion rotatably coupled to the second end of said alignment
mechanism by means of said fastening means, and adapted to be
housed in said lower part in order to mesh with the rack.
2. The support beam system according to claim 1, wherein said rack
comprises a plurality of valleys and a plurality of crests, wherein
the valleys comprise an opening that allows free air flow or liquid
flow to avoid accumulation of dirt.
3. Support beam according to claim 1, wherein over the alignment
mechanism rack said pinion runs, and wherein said pinion in a
receiving end houses a rod which transfers force or torque to
another pinion disposed in the opposite end of said rod, so that
the alignment mechanism may run synchronously.
4. The support beam system according to claim 1, wherein the lower
part is defined by a lower wall having an upper face, a side wall
and an upper wall having a lower face, wherein the rack is located
in the upper face of the support beam lower part lower wall, the
alignment mechanism having a protrusion between the first end and
the second end, the protrusion adapted to slide abutting the lower
face of the upper wall of the lower part.
5. The support beam system according to claim 1, wherein the rail
comprising at least one mobile vehicle having two ends, wherein the
first end of the alignment mechanism is fastened to one of the two
ends of the mobile vehicle.
6. The support beam system according to claim 1, wherein the pinion
comprises: a receiving end having a first end and a second end, the
second end having greater diameter than the first end, a middle
part abutting the second end of the receiving end, and a meshing
part abutting with the middle part, wherein the fastening means is
a pin which has an opening through which the first end of the
receiving end is inserted until the meshing part abuts with the
second portion and until the opening surrounds, at least in part,
the middle part, fastening thus the inner part of the pinion to the
alignment mechanism; wherein the middle part of said pinion has a
plurality of grooves which diminish contact and friction between
the pin and the fastening means; and wherein said receiving end
houses a rod which transfers force or torque to a second pinion of
a second support beam system in the opposite end of the cabinet
liner.
7. The support beam system according to claim 1, wherein the
support beam is fastened to the liner by means of barrels and
fasteners, wherein at least one barrel protrudes from the other
barrels for guiding the mounting of the support beam to the
liner.
8. A home appliance comprising at least one support beam system
according to claim 1.
9. A drawer rail assembly for mounting a drawer in a slidably
manner in a cabinet, the cabinet comprising a first substantially
vertical liner and a second substantially vertical liner; the
drawer rail assembly comprising: a first support beam system
mounted in said first substantially vertical liner and a second
support beam system mounted in said second substantially vertical
liner, the first support beam system being substantially co-lineal
with the second support beam system, each support beam system
comprises: an upper part defined by a side wall and a lower wall
being substantially "L" shaped; a lower part defined by a side
wall, an upper wall and a lower wall being substantially "C"
shaped; wherein said upper part and said lower part are integrally
formed in one piece; a rail fastened to the upper part; an
alignment mechanism having a first end and a second end, the first
end being fastened to said rail, and the second end comprising
fastening means; a rack formed in the lower part, and a pinion
rotatably coupled to the second end of said alignment mechanism by
means of said fastening means, and adapted to be housed in said
lower part in order to mesh with the rack; wherein said drawer rail
assembly further comprises a rod with a first end and a second end
coupled respectively to the pinion of each of said first and second
support beam systems, so that the rod transfers force or torque
between the pinion of the first support beam system and the pinion
of the second support beam system, therefore when the drawer is
pulled or pushed the rail of the first support beam system and the
rail of the second support beam system slide synchronously.
10. The drawer rail assembly according to claim 9, wherein said
rack comprises a plurality of valleys and a plurality of crests,
wherein the valleys comprise an opening that allows free air flow
or liquid flow to avoid accumulation of dirt.
11. The drawer rail assembly according to claim 9, wherein the
lower part is defined by a lower wall having an upper face, a side
wall and an upper wall having a lower face, wherein the rack is
located in the upper face of the lower wall of the lower part, the
alignment mechanism having a protrusion between the first end and
the second end, the protrusion adapted to slide abutting the lower
face of the upper wall of the lower part.
12. The drawer rail assembly according to claim 9, wherein the
pinion comprises: a receiving end having a first end and a second
end, the second end having greater diameter than the first end, a
middle part abutting the second end of the receiving end, and a
meshing part abutting with the middle part, wherein the fastening
means is a pin which has an opening through which the first end of
the receiving end is inserted until the meshing part abuts with the
second portion and until the opening surrounds, at least in part,
the middle part, fastening thus the inner part of the pinion to the
alignment mechanism wherein the middle part of said pinion has a
plurality of grooves which diminish contact and friction between
the pin and the fastening means; wherein said receiving end houses
a rod which transfers force or torque to a second pinion of a
second support beam system in the opposite end of the cabinet
liner; and wherein the receiving end of the pinion of the first
support beam houses a first end of the rod and the receiving end of
the pinion of the second support beam houses a second end of the
rod.
13. The drawer rail assembly according to claim 9, wherein the
support beam is fastened to the liner by means of barrels and
fasteners, wherein at least one barrel protrudes from the other
barrels for guiding the mounting of the support beam to the
liner.
14. The drawer rail assembly according to claim 9, wherein said
rod, seen from a transversal cut, has a specific shape similar to
the shape of a receiving end of the pinions, the rod comprising at
least one groove, opening, stop, ratchet, or any other type of
device that prevents relative movement or torque loss between the
rod and the pinions.
15. A home appliance comprising the drawer rail assembly of claim
9.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from Mexican application Serial
No. MX/a/2008/005013 filed Apr. 17, 2008, which is incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention refers to a set of support beams along with a
drawer mechanism, and its method of assembly, and more
particularly, to a mechanism for supporting drawers in a horizontal
axis, for cabinets in general, preferably, however not limited to,
the field of refrigerators and freezers, as well as an assembly
method thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
During the last few years, bottom mount refrigerators, with drawers
in their bottom part, have been re-introduced in the market. A
refrigerator with a drawer in its lower part has the fresh food
compartment placed vertically in the upper part of a drawer or
freezing compartment. The freezing compartment is usually smaller
than the fresh food compartment.
There are different types of mounting mechanisms to close the front
access of the lower drawer. In one embodiment, the freezer door is
mounted with hinges to the refrigerator compartment cabinet, to
allow the door to rotate in a vertical axis to open. In another
embodiment, the door rolls or rotates in a horizontal axis.
In yet another embodiment of lower drawer mounting, said drawer
slides moving horizontally relative to the refrigerator
compartment. In this embodiment, the door inner cover or liner is
fixed with rails that extend telescopically from the freezer
compartment to allow the front door to slide in a horizontal axis
relative to said compartment, to carry out the respective aperture
and closure of the freezer compartment. Typically, this sliding
compartment has a drawer or container, in which food articles are
stored, and are accessible to the user when the door slides to open
the compartment. In general, the articles that are stored in the
drawer or container within the compartment, are articles with a
given weight, and they tend to gain weight when frozen. Therefore a
mechanism capable of supporting a substantial weight is needed, as
well as a reliable, economic and easy to mount is needed.
In the art, the drawers had rails that did not correctly distribute
the weight of the drawer, and were directly mounted to the
compartment liner walls. An example of this, is U.S. Pat. No.
4,936,641, which discloses mounting system for an article
supporting member in a refrigerator includes first and second
support members, each one is secured and mounted to the compartment
liner lateral walls so that the height member of the support
members may be adjusted. In another patent which discloses similar
rails, that are not telescopic, is U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,009, wherein
the rails uses ball bearings to slide the drawer by means of beams.
Another patent that discloses this type of rails, is U.S. Pat. No.
4,788,832, wherein the rail support is directly attached to the
freezer compartment liner.
Telescopic rails in refrigerators were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.
2,103,885, which discloses a refrigerator capable of increasing
wasted space for increasing refrigerator capacity. Another
telescopic rail disclosed in the art, is that of U.S. Pat. No.
2,711,944. In said patent, the telescopic rails are supported by a
pair of angled brackets, at the same time, the supports are
directly fixed to the liner.
There are several patents that disclose in the art rails or
telescopic rails, as well as rail supports to mount drawers with
substantial weight. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,730, discloses
a freezer drawer, specifically a mechanism to mount drawers to a
refrigerator compartment. The drawer uses a pair of lateral
adapters having a front section and a respective canal. Rails for
the drawer, which are telescopic, are mounted to the canal of the
first and second lateral adapters, with the disadvantage that these
rails are loose within the canal. As seen in FIG. 5, an upper lug
shown with numeral 127, lies over the upper groove of the liner,
shown with numeral 66. On the other hand, a lower lug shown with
numeral 147, lines over the lower groove of the liner, shown with
numeral 67. This effect of resting the rail support over the liner,
creates friction between the parts, that will eventually lead to
the deterioration of the pieces, being a non-desired problem.
Having the lugs in the rail support and grooves in the liner, makes
the assembly of the parts a complicated and costly process.
Additionally, the mold to make the rail support, with said grooves,
is difficult to achieve and produce, being that the tolerances of
the process are minimum in view of the grooves and lugs, since the
product has to be cooled for assembly, otherwise, it is possible
that the product may fracture or even break. Having lugs in the
rail support, gives the rail support little adaptability to
different compartment models, for example, the rail support may not
be coupled to flat walls, unless the wall has grooves as those
disclosed by said patent. Additionally, having said grooves also
renders a rail support which is inadaptable to different freezer
models. Having lugs in the rail support that lies over the
compartment liner wall grooves, creates the disadvantage that when
the drawer slides in a horizontal axis, the rail support moves, and
therefore, the whole drawer may be extracted in an unaware manner,
further to creating instability in view of the drawer's weight. The
quantity of material used to achieve the rail support in said
patent, is excessive, in view of the wasted material parts, as is
found in the upper wall, shown with numeral 97. Being that the used
material quantity by said patent is greater, the final product is
heaver, thus, having as a repercussion the deterioration of the
wall. The section for fixing the drawer to the rails while sliding
in a horizontal axis towards the outer part with regards to the
upper compartment, shown with numeral 188, which is observed in
FIG. 2 of said patent, does not totally stop the drawer, that is,
if the mechanism is oppressed towards the inner part, the drawer
may be easily loosened. The US patent does not disclose or suggest
the use of a rack and pinion separate to the rail, as does the
present invention so that the rails may synchronically slide the
same length. This patent, has as part of its family, U.S. Pat. No.
7,240,980 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/758,169, with
publication No. 2007/0227180.
None of the prior art documents disclose a rail mechanism and a
rail support mechanism that is easy to assemble and that may be
adapted to any type of wall. Furthermore, none of the prior art
documents disclose a slide mechanism and a drawer support mechanism
that is easy to produce.
Therefore, the above mentioned problematic exists in the prior art.
An additional problem is that a rail and a rail support mechanism
that are easy to assemble and produce, which at the same time have
a high adaptability to different types of walls is not disclosed.
Likewise, there are not rail supporting or fastening mechanisms
that are capable of sustaining a substantial weight, without
resting over the wall grooves. In view of the above, there are not
rail supporting or fastening mechanisms that do not deteriorate the
wall on which it rests, and as a consequence, its life expectancy
is diminished. The rails and rail support mechanisms that are
capable of sustaining substantial weight and not deteriorating the
walls, require a great quantity of materials to be made.
A further problem is that the drawers may be unexpectedly removed
by a user. Yet another problem found in the telescopic rails of the
art, is that when opening or closing the drawer, i.e. when sliding
the drawer in a horizontal axis, the lateral ends of the drawer
tend to misalign creating a non-uniform sealing of the drawer door
with regards to the compartment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention contemplates a rail mechanism or a
longitudinal sliding mechanism and a mechanism to sustain said
rail, that work together. The rail mechanism and its support, are
specially contemplated for the use of heavy weight drawers,
however, are not limited to said drawers, since they may be
adaptable to any type of drawer. Likewise, the slide mechanism and
its support are specially contemplated for their use in
refrigerators, specifically for freezer compartments, and may be
adaptable to any type of liner or said compartments, however, may
be used in any type of wall and compartment, independent of the
temperature that said compartment may have, for example a high
temperature compartment, as may be an oven, adapting only the part
materials.
The drawer mechanism is specially contemplated for a refrigerator
of the type of a bottom mount refrigerator, and requires the use of
two baskets, an upper with rails moving in a telescopic manner, and
an intermediate basket that is supported in the grooves of the
compartment or liner, since the rack is found in the lower part of
the level of the telescopic rails, however, may be used in
different situations. In a non-limitative exemplary manner, the
mechanism of the present invention may be used in a washing machine
or an oven, wherein the washing machine door may be, instead of the
traditional rotatable aperture in the lower axis of the door,
slidable in a horizontal axis. Additionally, this type of drawer
mechanism, may be provided in an ordinary furniture that requires
sustaining considerable weight. It should be clear that the only
requirement of said drawer is that it is slidable and telescopic
and that, even if only exemplified with refrigerators, the
mechanism of the present invention may be adapted to several
situations.
The drawer mechanism of the present invention is a telescopic
mechanism that comprises as essential pieces a rail (also called
longitudinal sliding mechanism) and a rail support mechanism. The
rail is capable of sustaining a drawer or basket, in which products
are stored within the compartment. The rail is capable of sliding
in a horizontal axis with regards to the compartment, being that
the compartment is in a fixed position.
The rail and rail support mechanism have a mechanic design
different to those already known. In the back part of the rail
support mechanism or longitudinal sliding mechanism, locaters of
said mechanism are found in the same axis. So as to spare material,
the back part of the rail support mechanism is substantially
hollow. In the front part, the rail support mechanism has to main
parts. A main upper part, wherein the rail will be fixed and
supported by means of fixing means, that may be threaded pieces and
pieces to be threaded, such as in a non-limitative exemplary
manner, screws and nuts of the rail support mechanism. Said first
upper part, contains at least one of said fixing means. It should
be clear that if the fixing means is distributed in a better manner
with regards to the rail support mechanism and with regards to the
drawer maximum calculated weight, a better fastening will be
achieved by said mechanism. Additionally, it is clear that a
greater number of fixing means throughout the rail supporting or
fastening mechanism, will help distribute the drawer weight. A
second loser part of the rail support mechanism, contains a lower
wall, and a lateral wall and an upper wall, wherein, in said lower
wall a rack encloses a parallel mechanism pinion. The rack in its
valleys comprises holes, with a longitude equivalent to the width
and length of the pinions teeth, so that if liquid or solid is
spilt, said liquid or solid does not stay in the teeth of said
pinion or in the valleys of said rack, which would cause an
asynchronous run of the drawer and an unequal feeling for the user
when sling the drawer in a horizontal axis. The crests of the rack
have the same height and inclination along the length of said
rack.
The telescopic rail, has a proper and particular mechanic design.
The rail is capable of being supported only by the above-mentioned
support means. That is, the rail is coupled to the rail support
mechanism and the rail support mechanism is coupled to the wall by
the same fixing means. The rail is designed to be fastened and
supported by the rail fixing means, as well as being designed to
not touch, and consequently not to rest its rail weight over the
lower wall of the first upper part of the rail support mechanism,
i.e. the rail does not rest over the rail support mechanism.
Each rail additionally counts with a mechanism for helping that the
rail mechanism of the present invention, while sliding on a
horizontal axis, be extracted and introduced in a parallel and
synchronic manner, creating a uniform seal throughout the door
frame with regards to the compartment. Furthermore, said mechanism,
which will be called "parallel mechanism" here-in-forth, allows
that during the sliding in a horizontal axis of the drawer, the
user feels a uniform sliding, easing the extraction and
introduction of the drawer. The parallel mechanism pinion, is found
in a vertical axis different to said rails, wherein a rack of the
rail support mechanism is found. The parallel mechanism is fixed by
a fixing device to the rail, thus, when sliding in a telescopic
manner, the rail and the parallel mechanism, by means of its pinion
and the rack of the rail support mechanism second part,
synchronically run the same length that the rail. The pinion is
capable of running throughout the rack provided in the rail support
mechanism without drawing out of its race, in view that at least
one projection in the arm above the pinion, is part of the parallel
mechanism and in view of the limited race of the drawer. The
parallel mechanism is joined by a rod, to the opposed parallel
mechanism provided in opposed lateral end rail, which allows a
synchrony between parallel mechanisms. Additionally, the parallel
mechanism pinion, is designed in such a manner that it reduces the
possible contact friction between the pinion and the rail support
mechanism.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention, to provide a
rail mechanism and a rail support mechanism that is easy to
assemble and produce and that may be adapted to any type of
wall.
Another object of the present invention is providing a rail support
mechanism that does not rest over the wall grooves, and thus a
further object of the present invention is providing a rail
mechanism and a rail support mechanism that does not deteriorate
the walls. Being another object, providing a drawer capable of
sustaining considerable weight amounts without having the rail
support mechanism rest over the grooves of a wall.
Yet another object of the present invention is making a rail
mechanism and a rail support mechanism that is ease to produce with
few materials, and thus, it is yet a further object to lower
production cost of the drawer mechanism.
Another object of the present invention is providing a drawer, a
rail support and a rail that is unmovable, that is, that the user
in an unexpected manner, may remove the drawer from the
compartment.
Yet a further object of the present invention, is providing a
drawer capable of being extracted in a parallel and equal manner in
both its lateral ends when sliding in a horizontal axis.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become
clear when taking into account the specification along with the
following figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The particular features and advantages of the invention, as well as
other objects of the invention, will become clear of the following
specification, taken in connection with the following figures,
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bottom mount refrigerator.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a drawer mechanism embodying
aspects of the present invention and a bottom door of the
refrigerator.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the drawer mechanism in a
compartment.
FIG. 4 is a detailed view of part of a rail and part of the drawer
mechanism.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the drawer mechanism in a
compartment.
FIG. 6 is a conventional perspective view of the drawer mechanism
in an introduced position.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the drawer mechanism in an
extracted position.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a compartment where the drawer
mechanism is in an extracted position.
FIG. 9 is a right lateral view of the drawer mechanism in an
extracted position.
FIG. 10 is a back view in lateral perspective of the drawer
mechanism in an introduced position.
FIG. 11 is a detailed upper perspective view of the parallel
mechanism with a rail and a mechanism to fasten the rail.
FIG. 12 is a back perspective view of the parallel mechanism,
showing an example structural relation of this rail and the rail
fastening mechanism.
FIG. 13 is a cross-section of a compartment with the rail fastening
mechanism.
FIG. 14 is a frontal perspective view of the fastening mechanism to
fasten the rail attached to a wall.
FIG. 15 is a back view of the rail fastening mechanism.
FIG. 16 is a frontal view of the rail fastening mechanism.
FIG. 17 is a right lateral perspective view for fastening the
rail.
FIG. 18 is a cross-section view of one example embodiment of the
drawer mechanism embodying aspects of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is a cross-section view of another example embodiment of
the drawer mechanism embodying aspects of the present
invention.
FIG. 20 is a view of a transversal cut of the drawer mechanism.
FIG. 21 is a back view of the drawer mechanism.
FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the parallel mechanism.
FIG. 23 is a lateral view of a pinion of the parallel
mechanism.
FIG. 24 is a lateral view of the pinion.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present description is carried out in an exemplary manner in
regards to a refrigerator, however, the drawer mechanism of the
present invention includes, however is not limited to:
refrigerators, washing machines, dish washing machines, ovens and
conventional drawers, and any other type of compartment.
In FIG. 1, a refrigerator with an upper compartment (1) and a lower
compartment or drawer (2) is shown. The lower compartment (2)
comprises a basket (4) fixed to rails (3), which slide in a
horizontal axis opening and closing the lower compartment (2). The
basket is capable of storing products. The slides (3) are fixed to
the wall (10) of the lower compartment (2) by means of a support
beam (20) to fasten the rail (3).
In FIG. 2 a conventional perspective view of the mechanism of the
present invention is shown, however, different to FIG. 1, the
mechanism shown in FIG. 2 is directed to a mechanism to any type of
apparatus or conventional drawer. The adaptability of the mechanism
will be explained with greater detail in the following paragraphs.
A door (5), which opens and closes the access to the lower
compartment (2) is fixed to the front end (6) of the rail (3) by
means of a support (13). When the user pulls or pushes the door (5)
handle (8), the user creates sufficient force in a horizontal axis
to slide the door (5), basket (4) and basket (4) contents by means
of the slides (3). The support beam (20) that supports the slides
(3) should be fixed to the lateral wall (10) of the lower
compartment (2) in a correct manner, otherwise, the user might
extract in an unexpected manner the drawer or lower compartment (2)
and its content. Additionally, it is usual that when the user
pushes or pulls the handle (8), said user pushes or pulls one of
the two lateral ends of the handle (8) and not from the central
part of said handle (8). Therefore, when pushing or pulling from a
lateral end of the handle (8), a greater traction force to slide
one of the two sides of the drawer mechanism is made, causing an
asynchronical sliding of the rails, and causing that the drawer or
lower compartment (2) to get stuck during its sliding. Therefore,
to solve this problem, the present drawer mechanism has an
alignment mechanism (30) that has a rod (31) communicating the
first alignment mechanism (30) of a rail with an opposed second
alignment mechanism (30'), assuring that the traction of both rails
(3) to be always synchronous and parallel.
As mentioned above, the rail (3) is fixed to a support beam (20) as
will be shown in the following figures.
The basket (4) is fixed to the rail (3) by means of projections
(9), as may be seen in FIG. 3. The projections (9) are distributed
throughout the mobile vehicle (11) of the rail (3), wherein the
projections (9) are located in such a manner throughout said mobile
vehicle (11) to help distribute the basket (4) weight, taking into
account the calculated maximum weight for the basket (4).
The rail (3) has two main parts, the first part, which is a mobile
vehicle (11) is embedded within the second part, which is a fixed
part (12). The fixed part (12) is fastened to the support beam (20)
by means of fastening means (101), and at the same time, said
support beam (20) is fastened to the wall (10). Specifically, in
FIG. 4, the basket (4) projections (9) may be seen. The door (5),
as stated above, is fastened to the front end (6) of the rail (3)
mobile vehicle (11) by means of a supporting part, bracket, support
or similar mechanism (13). The support (13) may contain fastening
means, such as may be screws and nuts, which are capable of
sustaining the door as well as the straightening mechanisms of the
door (5). In the back end (7) of the rail (3) mobile vehicle (11),
an alignment mechanism (30) may be found.
As will be analyzed with greater details in the following
paragraphs, the support beam (20) has two main parts: an upper part
(21) and a lower part (22). The upper part (21) of the support beam
(20), is the part that will fasten the rail (3) by means of
fastening means (101). The lower part (22) of said support beam
(20) has three different walls, wherein a lower wall (23) has a
rack (26) through which a pinion (32) of the alignment mechanism
(30) will run.
In view of the type of projections (9), specifically designed,
however not limited to, the application of a refrigerator, the
basket (4) as will be shown in FIG. 5, may be removed. For example
in a dish washing machine it is preferred that the basket (4) is
not removable, and therefore, the projections (9) have to be fixed
to said basket (4) with the rail (3).
The rail (3) front end (6) of the support (13), has a plurality of
openings through which the fastening means will pass to support the
door (5) with said front end (6). It should be noted that in the
proposed design of the present invention, the supports (13) that
are fastened to the rail (3) mobile vehicle (11), may be removed
from the mobile vehicle (11) along with the door (5) which is
disposed over the front face (6) of said supports (13), so to
convey flexibility to the assembly, as well as easiness at the time
of providing service or cleaning to the interior of the freezer or
cabinet that has this novel system object of the present
invention.
It is usual that the liner or wall (10) may contain a plurality of
grooves (15). The previous art shows that the drawer mechanism lies
over said grooves (15), contrary to that required by the present
invention.
In FIG. 6, said grooves (15) in the liner or wall (10) may be seen
with greater precision.
The upper part (21) wherein the rail (3) will be fasted, contains a
lateral wall (27) and a lower wall (28), whereas the lower part
(22) contains a lower wall (23), a lateral wall (24) and an upper
wall (25).
The upper part (21) is substantially smooth in its two
walls--lateral and lower (27, 28)--which are substantially
orthogonal between themselves. In the upper part (21) lateral wall
(27) a rail (3) will be fastened by means of said fastening means
(101). The upper part (21) lower wall (28) corresponds to the lower
part (22) upper wall (25). It is noted, that the rail (3) does not
rest over the upper part (21) lower wall (28), being one of the
objects of the present invention, not to relate in any manner, said
rail (3) with said upper part (21) lower wall (28), that is, the
rail (3) lower part is not made to have contact with the upper part
(21) lower wall (28). Should contact be made, it would incur in an
undesired deterioration of the wall (10) or liner. The upper part
(21) has a determined width, which should not be greater than the
fastening means (101) that will fasten the support beam (20) with
the wall (10) or liner. Also, the width of the upper part (21)
lateral wall (27) and consequently, the lower part (22) lateral
wall (24), may or may not be wider in the back part than in the
front, so as to adapt to tapered walls (10) or liners.
The lower part (22) has three walls: an upper wall (25) that is the
lower part of the upper part (21) lower wall (28), that is, the
lower part (22) upper wall is the opposed face of the upper part
(21) lower wall (28); a lateral wall (24) that is substantially
orthogonal to the upper wall (25); and a lower wall (23) that is
parallel to the upper wall (25) and consequently orthogonal to the
lateral wall (24). The upper wall (25) is substantially smooth so
that an alignment mechanism (30) projection (39) has little
friction in case there is contact with the upper wall (25), as
well, said projection (39) avoids that the pinion (32) gets away
from the rack (26), thus avoiding that these two loose contact,
thus resulting in a correct engagement at all times. Throughout the
lateral wall (24) a plurality of different diameter sized barrels
(100) are found; the greater diameter sized barrels (100) are
provided in their circular face located in the rear, a passing
opening (50) whose center coincides with the symmetry axis of the
greater sized barrel (100), and it is through this passing opening
(50) in which a fastener is passed, which may be preferably a screw
or rivet which may be anchored to the wall (10); the lesser
diameter sized barrels (47) also have in their rear a passing
opening, this in a preferred embodiment, allows housing the chords
of a screw or fastening means (101) with which the rail (3) will be
fastened to the beam support (20) upper part (21). In the back part
of said support beam (20) locators (29) may be found, that will be
inserted to similar sized openings in the wall or liner (10),
facilitating thus, the assembly mechanism for the drawers as will
be explained below.
The alignment mechanism (30) illustrated in FIG. 10, is made up of
an upper part (34) and a lower part (35). The alignment mechanism
in is upper part (34), is fastened to the back end (7) of the rail
(3) mobile vehicle (11), specifically to the back end of the end
section (12) of the mobile vehicle (11). The fastening of the
alignment device (30) to the rail (3) mobile vehicle (11) may be
through means of pin, screws, rivets, fasteners or any other
fastening means (33) (not illustrated) further to having a
resilient fastener (51). In view that the alignment mechanism (30)
in its upper part (34) is fixed to the rail (3) mobile vehicle
(11), when the rail slides in a horizontal axis, the alignment
mechanism (30) will also be sliding in the same horizontal axis in
a synchronous manner. On the other hand, the alignment mechanism
(30) in its lower part (35) comprises a pinion (32) fastened by a
pin (46) or introduced in the same alignment mechanism (30) having
a first face (36), in which in its lower part houses a receiving
cavity of the pinion (32) formed by the pin (46).
The pinion (32) is capable of rotating throughout the rack (26)
such as is seen in FIG. 7. Being in a closed position, when pulling
the handle (8) or by means of a motor (60) (not illustrated)
coupled by a mechanism (61) to the rod (31) or receiving end (38),
in the door (5) or bottom compartment (2), the user or motor (60)
produce a horizontal axis force contrary to the force generated by
the rail and possibly, depending on the apparatus, a magnet
creating a seal between the door (5) and the apparatus.
When the rail (3) mobile vehicle (11) starts its extraction
telescopic race, a downwards work (W) starts to be created, as may
be seen in FIG. 8, in view of the basket (4) weight and the
distance (D.sub.1) ran by the rail (3) mobile vehicle (11). In view
of the force generated by the user (F.sub.2) that pulls on the
handle, the distance (D.sub.1) run by the rail (3) mobile vehicle
(11) and particularly the weight force (F.sub.1) of the lower
compartment (2), the generated work (W) is in an essentially
perpendicular direction to the force generated by the user
(F.sub.2), since the basket (4) weight force (F.sub.1), in general,
will be greater than the force generated by the user (F.sub.2).
Clearly the greater the distance (D.sub.1) that the rail (3) mobile
vehicle (11) runs, the greater work (W) is generated.
The rail (3) is made up essentially by a end section (12) which is
the part that will be fixed to the beam support (20) upper part
(21), wherein the end section (12) is fastened by fastening means
(101) to said upper part (21), and by a mobile vehicle (11), and
thus, the telescopic rail (3) includes a end section (12), an
intermediate section (16) and a mobile vehicle (11); to said mobile
vehicle (11) a support (13) is attached, that contains projections
(9) to sustain the basket (4). Each one of the rail (3) mobile
vehicle (11) and end section (12) parts, has a longitudinal length
(L.sub.1, L.sub.2, L.sub.3) and arms (B.sub.1, B.sub.2, B.sub.3),
such as is observed in FIG. 9. In an introduced position, the
intermediate section (16) is embedded within the end section (12),
whereas the mobile vehicle (11) is embedded within the intermediate
section (16). The rail (3) parts (12, 16, 17) are connected in a
slidable manner between themselves.
When starting the extraction means race of the telescopic rail (3),
the embedded parts (16, 11) are un-housed. That is, when the user
pulls the handle (8), the mobile vehicle (11) starts a race in a
horizontal axis in a determined direction, which is outwards of the
lower compartment (2). The mobile vehicle (11) will run the length
of the final arm (B.sub.3) in a sliding manner with regards to the
intermediate section (16) housing said mobile vehicle (11), before
finding a stop that prevents that said mobile vehicle (11) runs the
total of its length (L.sub.3). This avoids a work excess (W) in
view of the basket (4) weight force (F.sub.1), which could cause
the possible rupture of the rail (3). When the race of the mobile
vehicle (11) ends, the race in the horizontal axis of the
intermediate section (16) mobile vehicle (11) starts. The
intermediate section (16) will run the length of the intermediate
arm (B2) in a sliding manner with regards to the end section (12)
that houses said intermediate section (16), before finding a stop
that prevents said intermediate section (16) to run the entire
length (L2), in view of the same reasons above explained.
Therefore, the distance (D.sub.1) ran by the telescopic rail (3) is
the same than the arm (B3) of the mobile vehicle (11), plus the arm
(B2) of the intermediate section (16), being this, substantially
the same than the length (L1) of the end section (12). Clearly,
length (L1) of the fixed part (12) depends on the deepness of the
lower compartment (2), and therefore, the longitude of all the
mechanism depends on the deepness of said lower compartment
(2).
The rail (3) used in the present invention, may be of the type of
sliding parts, or, the type that uses ball bearings (not
shown).
FIG. 10 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Specifically, the rear end of the support beam (20) is shown. The
rear end of said support beam (20) is substantially smooth and
hollow. It is hollow so as to save material and smooth to couple
the drawer mechanism to any type of wall (10). In the figure, a
fastening means (101) may be seen, that is capable of going through
the rail (3) final section (12) and the support beam (20) and of
sustaining, in part, the drawer mechanism of the present invention
in a determined wall (10). Preferably, as shown in the following
paragraphs, there is more than one means to distribute the basket
(4) weight and its content throughout the support beam (20).
The alignment mechanism (30) in its upper part (34), is fixed to
the back end (7) of the rail (3) mobile vehicle (11). The fastening
of the alignment device (30) to the end section (12) may be by
means of pins (33) or fasteners. In the lower part (35) of the
alignment mechanism (30), a receiving end (38) is found in the
first face (36) and the pinion (32) and projection (39) in the
second face (37). The alignment mechanism (30) projection (39) is
in contact with the upper wall (25) of the support beam (20) lower
part (22) causing friction among the parts.
In the alignment mechanism (30) lower part (35), the pinion (32)
teeth (40) engage with the valleys (41) and crests (42) of the rack
(26). Therefore, the alignment mechanism (30) lower part (35) is
fastened to the support beam (20) lower part (22) in view of the
contact between the projection (39) with the upper wall (25) and
the pinion (26) and its teeth (40) with the valleys (41) and crests
(42) of the rack (26). This disposition results in advantageous, in
view that the rack (26) helps supporting sudden or torsional
weights that the drawer could suffer in a determined moment, so
these forces, that would be reflected in the rails (3), will be
transmitted to the alignment device reflecting this force in the
pinion (32), this, at the same time, transferring to the rack (26),
transferring thus, the resulting effort to the wall (10); a correct
working of said mechanism may also be achieved, if the rack is
relocated (26). That is, in a diverse embodiment, the rack (26) is
placed in the lower wall (23) lower face; for this, a greater
distance between the projection (39) and the pinion (32) crest is
necessary, said distance should be a greater than the width of the
lower wall (23), being such that it allows the correct engagement
between the pinion (32) and rack (26), and thus the projection (39)
will slide over the upper face of the lower wall (25), forming thus
along with the pinion (32) a "C" that will run throughout the lower
wall (23), over the upper and lower faces. A diverse mechanism for
an alternate embodiment of the invention may be seen in the
relocation of the rack (26), which, would be disposed in the upper
wall (25) instead of the lower wall (23) as is the case of the
preferred embodiment of the invention, the rack (26) being disposed
in the upper wall (25) lower face, and therefore, the pinion (32)
would be disposed in the lower part of the alignment mechanism
(30), existing a distance between the crest of the pinion's (32)
teeth, and the projection (39), similar to the width of the upper
wall, being the first greater than the second; thus, the pinion
would not lose its engagement distance with the rack (26), since it
should be taken into account that the projection (39) would be near
or touching (depending on the mechanical restrictions of the
design), the upper wall (25) upper face, forming a "C" over the
rack (26) and the upper wall (25), working these two last as a
guide. Another embodiment is placing the rack (26) over the upper
wall (25) upper face, and thus, the rack (32) is located above the
projection (39), keeping a distance between themselves, similar to
the width of the upper wall (25), which, as in the prior
embodiment, this arrangement allows a correct engagement between
the pinion (32) and the rack (26), thus forming the projection (39)
along with the pinion (26) a "C" that runs over the rack (26) as
well as the lower face of the upper wall (25).
When the user pulls the handle (8) creating an outwards force with
regards to the compartment (2), and when fixing the alignment
device (30) to the mobile vehicle (11), said alignment device (30)
starts to run the same race than the mobile vehicle (11). When
fastened the alignment mechanism (30) lower part (35) with the
support beam (20) lower part (22), and when running the same race
than the rear end of the mobile vehicle (11), the alignment
mechanism (30) lower part (35) cannot be loosened.
In another preferred embodiment, the projection may be made up of a
small wheel or bearing that rotates over an axis, diminishing the
friction created between the wall, be this the lower part (22)
upper wall (25) or the opposed face of the lower part (22) lower
wall (23) and the projection (39).
Having the pinion (32) and rack (26) in the drawer mechanism,
allows a smooth race when extracting the lower compartment (2).
Furthermore, the rod (31), as seen in FIG. 11, connects the first
alignment mechanism (30) with an opposed second alignment mechanism
(30') by means of the receiving ends (38), allowing the race of the
lower compartment (2) to be equal, since when generating traction
from one side, the same traction will be generated in the opposing
side. Therefore, when generating force, be it extraction or
introduction, the user will feel a soft, synchronic and equal race
on both sides of the lower compartment (2), that does not allow the
lower compartment to get stuck during its extraction or
introduction race.
The pinion (32) and rack (26) are designed in such a manner that
engage between themselves. That is, the teeth of the pinion (32)
has a width and length such that, that concurs with the deepness
and width of the rack (26) valleys (41). Likewise, the radial
distance between each one of the pinion (26) teeth (40) have a
radial distance such, that concur with the width and height of each
one of the crests (42). Therefore, the engagement between the
pinion (32) and rack (26) is precise and soft.
In each one of the rack (26) valleys (41), an opening (43) may be
found as shown in FIG. 12. In the exemplary case of a freezer, if a
liquid or solid is spilt, the opening (43) does not allow said
liquid or solid to remain stuck in said rack (26) valley (41). In
the exemplary case of an oven, if a liquid or solid is spilt, the
opening (43) does not allow the liquid or solid to carbonize in the
rack (41) valley (41). In the exemplary case of a dish washing
machine in which liquid is constantly spilt, the opening (43) does
not allow liquid to stagnate in the rack (26) valley (41). If
liquids or solids stagnate or carbonize in the valley (41), it is
likely that the race of the drawer does not feel smooth.
In the alignment mechanism (30) lower part (35), as shown in FIG.
12, said alignment mechanism (30) comprises a pin (46) that
embraces the internal part (44) of the pinion (32). So that the
receiving end (38) rotates in view of the pinion (32) and rack
(26), the receiving end (38), the pinion (32) and internal part
(44) have to be the same piece, the internal part being located
between the receiving end (38) and the pinion (32). The
above-mentioned set of pieces, will be called from here-on-forth
rotating mechanism (61). So that the rotating mechanism (61)
rotates with regards to the traction generated by the race of the
pinion (32) and its teeth (40) with the rack (26) and its valleys
(41) and crests (42), the rotating mechanism in its internal part
(44) has to have the least contact possible, and consequently, the
minimum possible friction with the pin (46). Therefore, as seen
below, the rotating mechanism (61) internal part (44) has a
plurality of grooves, wherein the groove valleys are substantially
greater in length than the crests, so as to reduce friction between
the crests and the rotating mechanism (61) receiving opening. The
pin (46) engages without the possibility of releasing the rotating
mechanism, since the pinion is introduced by the rear part of the
alignment mechanism, inserting first its thinnest part
corresponding to the receiving end (38), followed by a conically
broadening of its stem, located proximal its greatest diameter to
the internal part (44), thus allowing an easy introduction of the
pinion (32) within the opening provided by the pin (46), opening in
a resilient manner to allow the entry of the already disclosed
conically broadened stem of the pinion (32), ending the
introduction of said stem in the opening, the pin (46) returns to
its resting position.
Furthermore, the internal part (44) has to have a greater length
than the width of the alignment mechanism (30) lower part (35), so
that the receiving end (38) does not have contact with the
alignment mechanism (30) first face (36) and so that the pinion
(32) does not have contact with the alignment mechanism (30) second
face (37), while the pinion (32) and the receiving end (38) rotate
simultaneously, as may be seen in FIG. 13, so that these parts do
not have friction among themselves.
The receiving end (38) has a groove (45) that has the same geometry
that the rod (31) transversal section. The rod (31) may be any
transversal section shape as long as it has at least one secant,
groove, opening, stop, ratchet, or any other type of device that
correctly grasps the rod (31) within the groove (45), preventing
relative movement between the rod (31) and groove (45), so as to
privilege the correct torque transmission between the pinion (32)
and rod (31). A first end of the rod (31) is inserted in the groove
(45) of a first alignment mechanism (30), whereas a second end of
the rod (31) is inserted in the groove (45) of the second alignment
mechanism (30') opposed to the first alignment mechanism (30).
Since the pinion (32) and the receiving end (38) form part of the
same rotating mechanism (61) bonded by the internal part (44), when
creating traction the pinion (32) with the rack (26), the rod (31)
is consequently rotated. In reference to FIGS. 11 and 13, when
rotating the rod (31), the opposed second alignment mechanism (30')
receiving end (38) is rotated. Consequently, if the user pulls or
pushes on one end of the handle (8) only, an equivalent traction
and force is generated in both drawer mechanisms of the present
invention.
In FIGS. 14 and 15 the fastening means (101) may be seen, that
fasten the support beam (20) with the compartment (2) wall (10).
Preferably, at least two fastening means (101) are present in the
support beam (20), in each one of the greater sized barrels (100).
In one embodiment, as shown in the following figures, the rear part
of the support beam (20) is substantially flat. In another
embodiment, as is shown in the following figures, the rear part of
the support beam (20) has a lug (49) for each fastening mean (101),
and the rest of the rear part is substantially flat. Finally, in
another embodiment, the rear part of the support beam (20) may or
may not have lugs (49) for each fastening means (101), however, has
a curvature or a lateral front wall (48) in the support beam (20)
front end (48). In this last embodiment, the front lateral wall
(48) concurs with the curvature (102) of the apparatus wall (10) or
liner. It is usual in refrigerators, ovens, washing machines,
washing machines lower drawers, which are located in the washing
machine lower part or are in form of small drawers over which the
washing machine is mounted, so as to house different articles,
washing machines and further home appliances, that the lateral wall
(10), in its front part, that is, in the part proximal to the
opening, has a curvature (102) towards the apparatus lateral end.
Therefore, this curvature may be available in the mechanism front
end so as to position the drawer mechanism, so that said support
beam (20) is quickly positioned to said wall (10), being that the
curvature in both is used as a reference guide. In this embodiment
the rest of the rear part may be or not flat, depending on whether
it has lugs (49).
FIG. 15, shows an embodiment that does not have the front lateral
wall (48) to position the drawer mechanism to the curvature (102)
shown in the wall (10). Furthermore a fastening means (101) coupled
to the smaller diameter sized barrels (47) provided by the support
beam (20) upper part (21) is shown.
FIGS. 16 and 17, show a back and front view, respectively, of the
third embodiment mentioned for FIG. 14. Specifically, the support
beam (20) is shown with a lateral front wall (48) that has a
greater width than the support beam (20) width. As mentioned
before, this front lateral wall (48) that is generally
perpendicular to the rest of the support beam (20), has a curvature
similar to the curvatures (102) (illustrated in FIG. 18) usually
used in home appliances walls (10). Therefore, the front lateral
wall (48) and the curvature (102), define the deepness, to quickly
assembly and couple the drawer mechanism of the present invention
with the home appliance wall (10). Clearly, if it is not a home
appliance, the front lateral wall (48) may be eliminated from the
drawer mechanism.
Specifically, making reference to the back view of FIG. 16,
locaters are shown (29). Preferably, more than one locater (29) in
each one of the drawer mechanisms may be found. The locaters (29)
allow, as does the front lateral wall (48) a quick assembly and
coupling of the drawer mechanism of the present invention with the
wall (10). Specifically, the wall (10) has the same number of
openings than the drawer mechanism locators (29). Therefore, when
assembling the drawer mechanism of the present invention with the
wall, the locater (29) has to be centered with its corresponding
opening in the wall (10). When centered the drawer mechanism
locater (29) with the wall (10), the locater (29) mechanism is
inserted in the wall (10) opening. Once the locater (29) mechanism
is inserted in the wall (10) opening, the drawer mechanism is able
to sustain itself with the wall (10) by means of the inserted
locaters (29) in the wall (10) openings, and therefore, the
fastening means (101) may be inserted without holding the drawer
mechanism. Furthermore, the locaters (29) are located in such a
manner throughout the support beam (20) rear part, that they
coincide with the wall (10) openings that will house the fastening
means (101).
As will be seen in FIGS. 16 and 17, the support beam (20) upper
part (21) is plunged with regards to the support beam (20) lower
part (22). This, so that the upper part (21) may sustain the rail
(3) as well as the alignment device (30), so that when finally both
are sustained, said upper part (21), the rail (3) and the alignment
device have a similar width to the lower part (22).
Additionally, it is seen that the lower part (22), the upper wall
(25), the lateral wall (27) and the lower wall (28), form a type of
groove or "C" profile, through which the alignment mechanism (30)
will perform its race.
In the embodiment of FIG. 16, a lug (49) is seen, which is useful
to improve adaptability to home appliances, in view of the wall
(10) or liner grooves (15) of the apparatus. It is noted that the
lug (49) is not there so that it rests on the apparatus wall (10)
or liner, rather to protect, in part the fastening means (101) and
on the other part, so that the fastening means (101) may be quickly
inserted.
FIG. 18, shows the two possible embodiments of the above. That is,
a lug (49) in the support beam (20) lesser diameter sized barrel
(47) is shown; whereas the other lesser diameter sized barrels (47)
have no lugs (49). Said lug (49) and the front lateral wall (48)
are specifically useful to facilitate the mount in home appliances.
However, it is preferred that an ordinary drawer that will be
mounted to a flat wall (10), lacks lugs (49) and a front lateral
wall (48) since they would not allow a proximal assembly to the
wall.
As stated before, another element that facilitates the assembly of
the drawer mechanism of the present invention, are the locaters
(29). The locaters (29) allow not having the front lateral wall
(48) and lugs (49). Specifically, at least two openings are made in
the wall (10) previous to mounting, with a distance between said
openings similar to the distance between the locaters (29).
Likewise, the wall (10) openings are, as are the locaters (29), in
the same vertical axis. When mounting the drawer mechanism in the
wall, the wall (10) openings should be found and the locaters (29)
should be inserted in said openings, wherein the wall (10) openings
and locaters (29) demark the horizontal and vertical axis mounting
for drawers.
The locaters (29) may or may not carry load from the drawer
mechanism. That is, the locaters (29) may help distribute the
drawer load weight and even, in an alternate embodiment of the
present invention, may be omitted.
However, it is the fastening means (101) which carry the greatest
drawer load weight, and the ones that effectively distribute the
drawer load weight, given that the load received by the rails, is
transmitted via the fastening means (101) and the lesser diameter
sized barrels (47) to the support beam (20) upper part (21), the
force transmission flows from the wall (10), by means of the
greater diameter sized barrels (100) and the passing opening (50),
which transfer the resulting force by means of the fastening means
(101) which will be anchored to the wall (10); therefore, the
drawer mechanism of the present invention is capable of fastening
to the wall (10), resisting the weight of the drawers (4) without
defeating the wall (10) and distributing the weight equitably
throughout the length and width of the support beam (20).
As stated before, the rail (3) is made up of three main parts, as
may be seen in the cross-section of FIG. 19. A fixed part (12),
which is joined to the upper part (21) lateral wall (27) by means
of fastening means (101), contains an opening in the same axis than
the smaller sized diameter barrels (47) of the upper part (21)
lateral wall (27). A mobile vehicle (11) that is mechanically
joined, allows the longitudinal displacement by an intermediate
section (16) embedded within the fixed part (12). The mobile
vehicle (11) has at least two fasteners (19) to sustain the support
(13), said support (13) has projections (9) to sustain the basket
(4). The fasteners (19) may be in the ends of the mobile vehicle,
and being able to be part of said mobile vehicle (11).
It is necessary to point out that in no part of the rail (3),
specifically in the fixed part (12) of the rail (3), which is the
outermost part of said rail (3), does it make contact and
consequently rest over the upper part (21) lower wall (28). In
fact, as seen in FIG. 19, there is a gap between the fixed part
(12) and the lower wall (28). It has been observed that resting the
fixed part (12) over the lower wall (28) distributes erroneously
the drawer (4) weight load, and ends up defeating the force
generated by the drawer mechanism fastening means (101).
In a first embodiment with lug (49), the wall (10) has a groove, in
which the lug (49) will be inserted. It is necessary to point out
that it is not intended that the lug (49) should hold weight or
distribute drawer (4) weight over the wall (10) groove. It is
possible that the upper part (21) lateral wall (27) fastening means
(101) have a length greater than the lug (49) to fasten to the wall
(10) groove.
In a second embodiment without groove (49), as shown in FIG. 20,
the drawer mechanism is adaptable to any type of wall (10),
independent of whether it has grooves or not. Therefore, in this
embodiment, the fastening means (101) in the upper part (21)
lateral wall (27) are capable of being inserted in the wall (10).
Likewise, the fastening means (101) in the lower part (22) lateral
wall (24) are also capable of being inserted in the wall (10). As
stated before, it is possible that the locaters (29) rest on the
wall, and consequently, also help distribute the drawer (4)
weight.
The fastening means (101), be them of the lower part (22) lateral
wall (24) and/or the upper part (21) lateral wall (27), possibly in
combination with locaters (29), should make a contrary force
(F.sub.3) to the basket weight force (F.sub.1) and the work (W)
done by the rail (3) and basket (4), specifically the basket (4)
and its content, be it when the basket (4) is introduced in the
drawer or even more so, when the basket (4) is extracted.
FIG. 21 is a detailed cross-section view of the intersection
between the upper part (21) lateral wall (27) and the lower wall
(28). Again, it is pointed out that there is a gap between the rail
(3) fixed part (12) and the support beam (20) upper part (21) lower
wall (28), therefore, the rail does not contact or rest over said
lower wall (28). In the same figure it may be seen that the lower
wall (27) is completely perpendicular to the upper part (21) lower
wall (28).
In the same figure, a previously mentioned embodiment is shown,
wherein the fastening means (101) has a greater length than the lug
(49), and therefore, the drawer mechanism of the present invention
is also capable of being fastened to the wall (10) groove in the
support beam (20) upper part (21).
FIG. 22 shows yet a further embodiment, wherein there are no lugs
(49) and a front lateral wall (48). In the same figure, an
alignment mechanism (30) projection (39) is shown, which is in
contact with the lower part (22) upper wall (25). The upper part of
the projection (39) is preferably circular to reduce the friction
between the projection (39) upper part and the upper wall (25).
Likewise, the alignment mechanism (30) pinion (32), is in contact
with the lower part (22) rack (26). Therefore, the projection (39)
and rack (26) enclose in a horizontal axis the alignment mechanism
(30) during its movement.
Likewise, as may be appreciated in FIGS. 22 and 23, the alignment
mechanism (30) upper rear part (34), has a resilient fastener (51)
capable of fastening with the rail (3) mobile vehicle (11) back
end. The distance between the projection (39) upper part and the
part between each of the pinion (32) teeth (40), should be slightly
less than the distance between the upper wall and the lower part
(22) lower wall (23).
The pinion is preferably made of a single piece as seen in FIG. 24;
comprising three parts, a receiving end (38), an internal part (44)
and teeth (40). The internal part (44) has a plurality of grooves
so as to diminish contact and consequently friction, existing
between the opening inner contact surface formed by the alignment
mechanism (30) lower part (35) fastener (46); the inner part (44)
groove valleys may be preferably substantially lengthier than the
crests, so that the fastener (46) engages without the possibility
of releasing the pinion (32).
Alterations to the structure disclosed in the present invention,
may be seen by those skilled in the field. However, it should be
understood that the present invention relates to the preferred
embodiments of the invention, which is for illustrative purposes
only, and should not be construed as a limitation of the invention.
All amendments that do not depart from the spirit of the invention
are included within the body of the attached claims.
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